Holidaying at home is my favourite destination. There is nothing I like better than waking up in my bed with a day ahead of me at home. The blur of the pre-Christmas flurry is fading. The HSC student survived and so did we. Although I resisted the holidays did arrive and it all got done. We started our celebrations with a birthday dinner for the oldest among us but it was the youngest that caught my attention. How sweet is their excitement of kids at Christmas time! From stolen Christmas tree candy canes to peeking at presents...they are the joy of the holidays.
Like little magnets they were attracted to Noah who has an amazing capacity to engage them.
On chilly rainy summer night they all insisted on swimming, getting dressed and swimming again until way past dark when they had their "last" swim before piling into the cars to go home.
Will made a birthday cake for Andrew. Unable to wait, dying of curiosity, thinking perhpas that no one will know and not really caring if anyone notices, a little bite has gone to temptation! Doesn't that just say it all about Christmas time?
It was the children that gathered round the cake to perform the birthday rituals...to light the candles, to sing and then to dig into the predictable results of my good friend Betty Crocker. After the cake they had to sneak away with the matches and all the candles to make wax hands before that last swim in the dark.
We didn't get many hand made Christmas presents done this year and in fact it was a miracle that Christmas happened at all but we did manage to engage Sam in painting this box. Any excuse to practice those graffiti skills!
And then it was time for our Christmas morning. The boys are just that much older now so it was possible to get up and go for a run, make the breakfast preparations and relax before anyone woke up for the presents. It seems like just a minute ago that the kids were up at the crack of dawn and John was practicing his favourite game of delaying the activities. It was a lovely slow paced day of laughs and tons of food. Why is it that even when it isn't the year for the big crowds that we still cook like it is? I had a huge ham, a salmon and a snapper which they all merrily enjoyed before hitting the Christmas parties. Oh to be young and full of anticipation for the gifts of life!
Moving on after Christmas is always a treasured time for me. The meals are all cooked, presents unwrapped and a few days pass in the luxury of home. Home. Do what you want, when you want and how you want. For me that means shut down the temptation to go fast or basically to do anything besides exactly what I want to do. We have reached that time of life when our young adults have schedules of their own that happen without our intervention. They make their plans and in a flurry disappear. Gone are the days of kids underfoot needing lunches, drinks and help with everything. The irregularity of the days keeps me on my toes but there is plenty of time to relax. We may have six for dinner or maybe just two. We may have a house full or my footsteps my echo through the rooms. It's nice. It's nice when they are here and it's nice when they are out living their lives.
What do I do when they are out? Well, these past few weeks I have had a wonderful experience with Anna Maria's new flannel fabrics. OH Heavenly softness! I can hardly wait until winter (did I say that?!) so I can put the new flannel quilt on my bed!
That was one project, and then there were a few others.
These past 10 days at home have been full of stolen moments of my favourite things. I have also enjoyed a nap every day, read two books and cleaned my closet (yes Kate, my t-shirts are colour coded for the next few weeks!) and had some great runs. There is great joy in getting into the projects that have cluttered my thoughts for ages. It was like finding the memory card full and hitting the download button. Images turned to reality before my eyes and I can now brag that I finished five quilt tops, four of which are a new series that I am excited about.
For New Year's we headed over to Balmain for a bbq. We parked at the shop and walked along the harbour to our destination. The streets were full of people heading to their viewing spots for the fireworks and the air was full of party excitement.
Ah, the fresh start of a new year full of the promise of a fresh start.
The day dawns brighter and everything seems new today. The flip of the calendar to 2012 brings the resolutions of hope and renewed energy. Happy new year to everyone...lets get this party started right!!! k
I loved this! So much packed in this post--of family, emotions, calm, excitement and the imagined sound of you at your sewing machine crafting FIVE quilt tops! You put me to shame! But then that's the fun of reading your blog--of partaking in a bit of your energy. We're post-Christmas, and I had some surgery (a bit of a cancer scare, but all's well), so things are moving slowly here. The new school term is calling me: get the syllabus done, and I look at the quilts in progress on the wall but nothing's interesting. (Maybe time to have the courage to pack them away and begin afresh?) That's why tonight it was especially fun to read your blog about your holidays. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you!
Posted by: Elizabeth E. | Wednesday, 04 January 2012 at 02:47 PM
Happy New Year to you!
Posted by: cardygirl | Thursday, 05 January 2012 at 05:35 PM